Squad 36 ★★★

OLIVIER Marchal is part of a tranche of French film directors who specialise in crime thrillers, usually involving police who walk a fine line between upholding and breaking the law.

The characters are always tough, uncompromising and willing to do whatever it takes to put criminals in jail or in a grave.

Marchal, who is also a successful actor, divides his directing and writing efforts between film and television. He is probably best known for scripting the television series Braquo which followed the fortunes of a bunch of corrupt cops over four excellent seasons.

His latest film, 2025’s Squad 36,  is pretty much more of the same. A cop is transferred from the so-called Anti-Crime Brigade after falling foul of his superiors. He initially turns his back on his former colleagues until they start getting bumped off or go missing. His investigation leads down the path of potential police corruption.

You may have seen it all before, but the action is still impressive, the script decent and the performances good, led by two charismatic actors in Victor Belmondo and Tewfik Jallab who have been down the crime thriller path a few times before.

Watched on Netflix.